Improved device for raising- sunken vessels



'dinard gitana getest' emitir.

SAMUEL WILLIAM MAQUAY, 0F FOOTSCRAY, NEAR MELBOURNE,

VICTORIA.

Letters .Patent No. 92,854, dated July 20, 1869.

To all whom it may conce/rn Be it known that I, SAMUEL WmLIAM MAQUAY,

Aof Footscray, near Melbourne,v in the British Colonyof Victoria, electro-chemical'plater and gilder, have invented An Improved Method of Raising Sunken Vessels and Goods', and sustaining those which are afloat; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and tothe letters of reference marked thereon. Y A

This invention has for its object the raising of sunken vessels or material, also sustaining those-,Which are atloat.

For this purpose I employ'hydrogengas, geuerated and applied in the manner and by the means hereinafter described.

Referring to the drawings heretoannexed- Figure 1 shows 'a side view of a sunken vessel, with my generating-apparatus and some gas-receptacles or balloons affixed; and

Figure 2 shows View, partly in section and on a `largerscale, ofthe generator and balloon.

A-is the generator, in which is broken zinc C is wooden shelf.

D is sulphuric-acid jar. E isniron rod. l Fis stuffing-box for same. p G. Vis height of vwater in generator.

H is gas-supply pipe.

I is strap, for holding same in position in gas-receptacle or balloon J.

-K is the rope grommet, forming the open mouth of the balloon.

'L is rope netting or casing, having links M and toggle N at its lower extremity.

The generator is made of cast-iron, havingoutward flanges around the top edge, made as shown, so as to receive an India-rubber washer, in order to form a water-tight joint when the top or cover'ls put on, and

fastened toit by screws or otherwise.- There are also several perforated tongues or lugs projecting from the lower edge, in order to permit ofits being screwed down in any required place.

The pipe H must be flexible.

Above the stop-cock in the exit-pipe, to which this flexible tube is attached, there must be a valve opening upwards, for the piu'pose of preventing thewater from entering into the generator whenit is? not under pressure...

The gas-receptacles, or balloons, should be flexible, and must be made of waten-tight material. I propose to make them of three thicknesses of can-vas or duck, each to have two coats of melted India rubber. I also propose to cut the material into a circula-r shape,- say about twenty feet in diameter, and to pierce an eyelethole, at about the distance of a foot apart, around the circumferenee,- at about two vinches from the edge.

Through each of these eyelet-holes I pass a stout cord, and fasten them all to a circular rope grommet, about two and a half feet in diameter. N ow, in order to relieve the water-proof material from .the strain caused Aby the pressure of the gas, I construct a net-work of ropes, `(as shown,) suiieiently strong to bear a considerable margin of strain beyond that to which it is likely to be subjected. Theseropes all meet, and are fastened to one si'de of a triangle of round iron, to which are attached' three strong links, with a toggle at the end.

IVhen about to commence operations for raising a Asunken vessel, I .first charge the generators with a sufcient amount of broken zinc, and about an equal weight of sulphmic acid, in a jar.

I then place'the iron rod in the acid-jar, fill in the re'quisite quantity of Water, and fasten down the lid.

I then sink the generators, and fasten them in any convenient position on the deck of the vessel. The gas-receptacles, with their rope net-work casings, arev then sunk and fixed in position, the toggle being xed, say inside the port-holes or dead-lights.

vThe end of the pipe is'f'astened to the strap, on the inside of each of the balloons, before being'lowered, and I nowl attach the other extremity, by a coupling,

y .to the endv of the supply-exit in the generator.

All .being now ready, the `operator strikes the iron rods E, as nearly simultaneously as possible, so as to l break the acid-jars, and permit of .the generation of hydrogen-gas, which then passes through the pipes into the balloons.

As soon as the power of the gas exceeds the weight ofthe vessel and the strength of its adhesion to the bottom, the vessel will begin to rise, and as it rises, the water itself will act as a most-perfect safety-valve for the balloons, permitting of the escape of the gas in precise proportion to the lessening of the pressure upon them by reason of their approach tothe surface, and so prevent-ing their being burst.

It` will belnoticed, in iigrl of the drawing, that I have only shown a sufiicient numberef generators and balloons to illustrate the method of operation. Theil' size, number, and method of attachment, must be regulated by the circumstances of each' individual case.

It may be as well, perhaps, to state/that I. have found that generators of the size I have shown in my drawings, containing a hundred weight of acid, and a similar quantity,by' weight, of broken zinc, vn'll produce about' eight hundred feet of gas, at adeptll ofv seventy-two feet; but, of course, at a less .depthvit would produce a larger quantity, and of' a lss density. In any case, it requires about twenty-seven cubic feet of gas toraise one ton.

l may also state, that I have. found it convenient to use one generator to three balloons, supplying them simultaneously. byseparate'pipes, each connected to its own exit.

2. The gas-generating apparatus herein described,-

in combination with the balloon H, provided with the link M aud toggle N, as set forth, for the purpose speciiied.

The above specification of my invention signed by me, this day of 1866.

SAMUEL WILLIAM MAQUAY.

Witnesses:

EDWARD WATERS, J OHN ARTHUR. 

